Wound infections caused by Vibrio vulnificus, a marine vibrio, in inland areas of the United States

Abstract

Vibrio vulnificus is a halophilic marine vibrio which may produce infection in wounds exposed to seawater or raw shellfish. The Centers for Disease Control has received two isolates from wounds exposed to inland waters, a New Mexico creek and an Oklahoma reservoir. Halophilic organisms were recovered from both the creek and the reservoir, and the water in both sites was found to be brackish. Both clinical isolates of V. vulnificus grew in salt concentrations as low as those found in the creek and reservoir. These cases illustrate the potential for pathogenic halophilic Vibrio species to live in brackish inland waters and produce infections in patients living in inland areas of the United States.